How sometimes you should clean your glasses, whether prescription or sunnies? We ask the experts

Because of the global spread of Covid-19, people all over the world are actually world are increasingly alert to hygiene and the cleaning of everyday items.

From disinfecting smartphones and keyboards to using toothpicks to press buttons on elevators, numerous techniques have been used to stem its pass on.

However, one object hiding in plain sight that's often ignored happen to be spectacles which are often touched, and in addition sometimes cleaned just by blowing over the lenses before wiping with a cloth.

According to Dr Anurag Mathur, expert ophthalmologist at Aster Jubilee Medical Intricate, Bur Dubai, approximately "80 %" of people’s glasses will be dirty.

“Despite cleaning them regularly, dirt will deposit especially on the rim of the frame and the nose pad area. Sweat is among the known reasons for dirt accumulation.

"The secretion from the oil glands of the eyelids likewise gets smeared on the glasses if indeed they come in contact with eyelashes. The rest could be credited to not keeping eyeglasses in hygienic spots,” he says.

Mathur recommends washing glasses twice daily - once each morning before wearing and once in the evening.

How exactly to properly clean spectacles:

Dr Ammar Safar, medical director at Moorfields Eye Hospitals UAE, says soap and water is the best cleaning technique if you need to rid the top of a virus: “The simplest way to clean eyeglasses is by using regular palm soap and normal water, and use your fingertips with soapy drinking water to completely clean the lens.

"Coronavirus is vunerable to routine hand cleansing for 20-seconds, therefore, using soap and drinking water to clean your glasses for 20-just a few seconds will kill the virus - you can do this every day.”

If you are not trying to rid your glasses of a virus, simple drinking water along with lint-free cloth is best option to clean them, according to Cyril Sara Babukutty and Sulu Syed Sajin, both optometrists with Aster Jubilee Medical Complex in Bur Dubai.

“[Some] lens cleaners available in the market have a slight amount of alcohol, which can damage the zoom lens coating. That is why it certainly is recommended to use supplier recommended cleaners from very good optical retailers,” they said.

Mathur agrees that soap and normal water is the best option to clean glasses if you are concerned about a virus, but he emphasises that washing lenses should be done with the most care so as not to destruction the coating. Scrubbing lenses, specifically, is discouraged.

Meanwhile, below are a few quick tips about proper repair, according to Babukutty: